Are you worried about the spread of crime spilling over onto the Internet? Would you like to work in a field of law enforcement that handles crimes against people, property, and business in the cyber world? You may want to consider pursuing a career in the criminal justice system. Those who like working with computers and on the Internet can have a rewarding career preventing people from becoming a victim of a cyber crime.

Choosing to earn a degree in criminal justice means you want to prevent crimes against the people. Because most people spend a large portion of their time online, shopping, and browsing for information, or on social networking sites, it has become a breeding ground for those who want to commit theft. It has also given those who investigate cyber crimes a lot more work to do. With a criminal justice degree, you may choose to investigate cyber crimes.

Crimes committed on the Internet are only new because of the venue in which these crimes take place. Identity theft, credit card fraud, and other crimes have been going on for a long time. Stealing personal information for private gain online is a newer crime. Shopping online has hit new heights recently as more and more people choose the convenience of making online purchases as opposed to trips to the mall.

Many people unknowingly set themselves up for cyber fraud. Cyber fraud consists of crimes that at one time were committed by mail or over the phone. Criminals in the act of consumer fraud have become more creative in their efforts to scam others with the advent of the Internet. Criminal justice investigators must always stay a step ahead of those who commit cyber crimes.

One form of cyber fraud is consumer fraud, the act of deliberate misrepresentation to deceive another out of their money for personal gain. People who commit cyber fraud rely on a percentage of people online that take fewer precautions when shopping online. Consumer fraud involves the promise of a service or product after consumers send money, only to find that what they pay for never arrives.

This is the most talked about type of cyber crime, and it is the theft of personal information or data consumers store on their computers. It is also theft of financial information shared on the Internet. Identity fraud is another crime born before the birth of the Internet. Identity fraud occurs when thieves steal information from consumers to gain access to their financial resources.

Before computers and the Internet, thieves procured this information by going through trash to retrieve old credit cards and bank account information. Other thieves hack into networks of financial institutions and banks to get their hands on large sums of money belonging to a number of consumers.